We walked through the dense forest with Drake, still careful not to attract the attention of the forest folk, especially Darkers. Only the small dagger jingled at my belt, thudding against the iron buckle of the small strap that held its handle. My friend's hand warmed my palm.
"It's a thirty-minute walk to our settlement, at least, he said thoughtfully. "We won't make it before the rain starts, so we'll have to find shelter. Some cave, burrow, or a structure of the Ancients will do just fine. Keep your eyes open.", Drake said in a wary tone. I swallowed the clot in my throat. An Ancient structure after all these years in this region? There's only one we've come across, but it's got no roof.
I heard distant thunder somewhere along the coast, and I breathed hard, not wanting to expose myself to the Water of Death. My eyes searched for any place that would be suitable for shelter. Anything.
"This way!", I said sharply. I turned to the side when I saw a hollow in the ground. It must be a burrow or something left over from the Ancients and their trenches when they knew the Tragedy was coming. And I'd been right to rush there. There was still time, but it was better to be safe in the knowledge that we had found shelter and had time to spare.
Drake ran after me. We successfully ducked into our shelter almost simultaneously, and I also rode down the small slope below, sliding my feet. And landed inside the cave-hole on my butt.
"Are you okay?", He asked. I nodded absently, watching the darkness from the clouds overhead. It was going to rain any second now. Drake and I would have to be careful and even quieter doubly so, for the Darkers come out of their shelters just as the acid rain is coming down. It affects them differently than it affects us. Acid gives these things strength.
"We haven't wandered into one of the Darker hideouts, have we?", I whispered in horror and looked around the underground cavern.
"I doubt it. We'd be dead by now if you were right." Replied he calmly. He was right. I settled to the floor just as the water rushed in, hitting the ground. It smelled like salt, as if the water were sea water, but that's what the whole poisoned atmosphere of this planet smelled like to me. Salt and iron.
Drake sat down next to me with his legs tucked under him. He put one arm around me and pulled me close, like a brother. Water began to trickle down the slope into the cave, and I looked worriedly at the puddle that was coming toward us, and then at Drake. I backed away a little, approaching the blind end of this small cave. My friend repeated after me. If the water got us, our suits might protect us, but I wasn't sure about that. I didn't want to die here, so shamefully, escaping the weather. I wonder what the people who found our skeletons would think. They won't know what happened to us unless they're fleeing the rain too.
"The puddle won't hurt us.", Drake whispered. I really wanted to believe that. "I can sense your fear."
"What? I'm not afraid. What do you take me for? A scared little girl of ten? I'm not ten anymore, Drake. ", I sighed. "I can hear your fear just as well."
"Maybe.", Drake smiled, not saying anything else.
A lot of us can feel each other's emotions. I don't know if the Ancients did, but from what we know about them, no. I don't know how to explain this intuition. I can just see what's on a person's mind, like through a window in their heart. It can't be explained by me seeing an aura or seeing a "I'm angry", "I'm happy" inscription on their forehead. No. It's like a completely new sensation, unrelated to any of the others: not sight, not hearing, not taste, not smell. It doesn't interfere with our lives, we can only feel emotions when we want to.
YOU ARE READING
Let There Be Darkness
Fantasy"No. I don't want to," I answered. Our conversation didn't go well, because I wanted to be silent, and he wanted to talk. It seemed to me that it had become even lighter around, although the night was only deepening. It couldn't be dawn already, cou...
